Wolf Blitzer Reports

Spy Plane Standoff

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WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Tonight, a special report: "Spy Plane Standoff." A U.S. reconnaissance aircraft on the ground in China after a collision with a Chinese fighter, its crew reportedly taken off and isolated. President Bush says he's troubled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our priorities are the prompt and safe return of the crew and the return of the aircraft without further damaging or tampering.

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BLITZER: Is this the start of a full-scale international crisis? Who's at fault? What's the next move?

We'll go live to the White House and to Beijing, and we'll get a close-up look at the top secret spy plane, the EP-3. And I'll speak live with Admiral Dennis Blair, commander-in-chief of U.S. forces in the Pacific.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world to this special report: "Spy Plane Standoff." I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting from the Pentagon.

President Bush has been in office for only 10 weeks, but he now faces a potentially serious international crisis. A U.S. Navy spy plane and its two dozen crew members remain on an isolated Chinese island after being forced to make an emergency landing.

It's now Tuesday morning, shortly after 8:00 a.m. local time in Beijing, almost 48 hours since the incident. The United States is still waiting for contact with the crew, as the spy plane standoff continues.

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BLITZER (voice-over): The U.S. says the EP-3 surveillance plane, like this one, was on a routine mission in international airspace when it collided with one of two approaching Chinese F-8 fighters over the South China Sea. American military officials say they recently complained Chinese shadowing has been getting more aggressive.

China says that it was the Navy's spy plane that bumped into its jet and without permission intruded into its airspace to make an emergency landing on the island of Hainan. The Chinese jet is missing. The fate of its pilot unknown.

In his first public comments since the weekend incident, President Bush demanded the plane be returned immediately and that U.S. diplomats be granted access to the 24 crew members.

BUSH: I am troubled by the lack of a timely Chinese response to our request for this access.

BLITZER: The U.S. government is angry Chinese officials have, according to a Chinese source, boarded the aircraft still on the ground at Lingshui air base. The EP-3 contains some of the military's most sophisticated surveillance technology. American diplomats now in Hainan are still waiting for Chinese permission to meet with the crew members being held at an undisclosed location. The U.S. ambassador in Beijing says China must respect international law and the plane's sovereign immunity.

JOSEPH PREUHER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: This immunity precludes foreign search, boarding, or seizure, or detention of the aircraft without U.S. consent.

BLITZER: Crew members are trained to destroy sensitive documents and equipment if it appears they could be compromised. It's unclear whether the EP-3 crew had the opportunity to do so.

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BLITZER: U.S. officials tell CNN the Chinese government has informed the Bush administration that the United States would have access to the crew members Tuesday evening China time, that's about 12 hours from now. For more on the Bush administration response, let's go live to CNN senior White House correspondent John King. John, what are you hearing at the White House?

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the public administration line to that response from the Chinese government is, "not good enough," that U.S. diplomats should have been granted immediate access not only to the crew but also to the plane.

But U.S. officials also saying the president chose his words quite carefully today. They say he recognizes this is a very delicate situation for both governments. And in the words of one senior U.S. official: "The president is trying to see if we can prevent this accident from turning into an incident."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): The president went public after the low-key approach failed to bring an end to the stand-off.

BUSH: Failure of the Chinese government to react promptly to our request is inconsistent with standard diplomatic practice, and with the expressed desire of both our countries for better relations. KING: The administration's national security team debated whether Mr. President should call Chinese President Jiang Zemin, but decided against that approach, at least for now.

BUSH: The Chinese must promptly allow us to have contact with the 24 airmen and women that are there, and return our plane to us without any further tampering. I sent a very clear message, and I expect them to heed the message.

KING: China's vice premier visited the White House just 10 days ago, and Mr. Bush accepted an invitation to visit Beijing in the fall. But the smiles couldn't mask the obvious tensions in U.S.-China relations. Beijing is warning of dire consequences if the White House agrees to sell new radar systems and other state-of-the-art U.S. military technology to Taiwan. A decision is due this month.

China also is upset at the recent defection of an army colonel to the United States. Washington is protesting China's detention of visiting American scholars.

BATES GILL, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: We have a new president here. There is a lot of wariness. Both sides taking measure of one another, and a good deal of concern that things may get worse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Now, despite the obvious tensions, the U.S. officials say they believe the U.S.-China relationship was off to a relatively positive start in the Bush administration. Whether that continues, they say, depends on the actions of the Chinese government in the next 12 hours or so -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John, there seem to be some conflicting signals...

(AUDIO GAP)

BLITZER: ... I am told here at the Pentagon that the U.S. is withdrawing about three warships from the area. Is there a mixed message that is being sent to Beijing?

KING: Well, during the day, there may have been indeed been a mixed message. One of the reasons, though, those warships were withdrawn, U.S. officials saying is that they want to give the Chinese leadership a little bit more time to resolve this, and they wanted to show that the United States was certainly not trying to be provocative in any way, while sending a very clear message diplomatically and through the president's public comments that the United States believes those diplomats, U.S. diplomats, should have access to the crew as soon as possible.

BLITZER: John King at the White House, thank you very much.

China, meanwhile, is blaming the United States for the collision, but while it has been slow to respond to U.S. demands, there are some indications that China, too, wants a solution to the spy plane stand- off. Let's go to live to Beijing and CNN bureau chief Rebecca MacKinnon. What are you are hearing from Chinese government officials in Beijing, Rebecca?

REBECCA MACKINNON, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Wolf, we have yet to hear directly from Chinese government authorities this morning. But as of an hour ago, the state-controlled media has been repeating Chinese government's statements, that it has been making since Sunday, that China holds the United States responsible, and that Chinese officials have complained to the United States government about the conduct of the U.S. plane.

The Chinese government is sticking to its line in its statements read in the Chinese media, saying that collision was caused when a U.S. plane suddenly turned and hit the Chinese F-8 fighter jet causing it to go down. The state-run media says that a search-and-rescue operation for the pilot and the plane is still going on. The pilot has yet to be found, or the plane, at this time.

The state media is also quoting Chinese Foreign Ministry officials, asking the questions: "Why was the United States sending planes so close to Chinese airspace?" And it also quoted the officials saying: "Why was it that the U.S. plane suddenly turned and hit the Chinese jet?" The implication being that there might have been some motive there.

Meanwhile, we have yet to hear any Chinese official comment on the reports that I have gotten from a Chinese source that the plane was boarded very shortly after it landed at the Chinese Lingshui airport -- air force base. As the sources told me, the crew was taken off the plane shortly after it was boarded, that they are being held separately, and as we understand now also, there are three U.S. diplomats down in Hainan. They are currently waiting in a hotel, according to a local source down there.

They still have not met with any Chinese officials. They are still hoping that they will be able to make contact with their crew, but so far, they haven't been able to meet with Chinese officials, let alone make contact -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Rebecca MacKinnon in Beijing, thank you very much.

The U.S. aircraft now on the ground at China's Hainan island belongs to a squadron based at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Washington state.

CNN's Lilian Kim is there. She joins us now live from there. There must be a lot of depressed, nervous people at Whidbey island right now, Lilian?

LILIAN KIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, definitely. The EP-3 reconnaissance plane is based here at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, and when not on a mission, the aircraft is kept inside the hangar behind me. The EP-3 looks identical to this aircraft. It's part of the same squadron which includes six reconnaissance planes. Each aircraft flies out on a rotating basis. Now, yellow ribbons have been placed throughout town and on the base to symbolize hope that the 24 crew members will be returned quickly and safely. A list of names has been just released. There were 21 men and three women on board. The senior officers are Lieutenant Patrick Honeck of La Mesa, California, Lieutenant Shane Osborn of Norfolk, Nebraska and Lieutenant Marcia Sonon of Lenharstville, Pennsylvania.

There could be a news conference as early as tomorrow morning. We could hear from family members to see how they are coping throughout this very uncertain time. That is the latest from Whidbey island, I'm Lilian Kim. Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lilian, and we are told here at the Pentagon three of those 24 crew members are believed to be women. We'll have a lot more on this coming up.

Up next: what's behind the dangerous cat-and-mouse game played out in the skies and seas near China? I'll speak live with Admiral Dennis Blair, commander of the U.S. forces in the Pacific.

And later: what was the U.S. aircraft looking for? We'll take a closer look at the EP-3 surveillance plane and its top-secret technology. Stay with us.

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BLITZER: Welcome back to our special report. U.S. ships and planes operating in surveillance missions off the Chinese coast have often engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with the Chinese military. Did one side break the rules this time? Did the United States cross the line? Were the Chinese too aggressive?

I'm joined now by the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, Admiral Dennis Blair. He joins us live in Honolulu.

Admiral, thank you for joining us. As of this minute, has there been any contact at all with any members of the crew since they landed?

ADM. DENNIS BLAIR, U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND: We had one message from the crew after it landed, Wolf. It -- the crew told us that they had, in fact, landed safely. That's the last communication that we've had with them.

BLITZER: And you haven't been able to get in touch with them since, but I take it the Chinese government has informed the U.S. government you will be able to start having contact in about 12 hours, Tuesday evening, China time, is that correct?

BLAIR: We've had encouraging words from Chinese officials in China, and we look forward to having our officials get in the touch with them. But I'm -- I would rather not put a time frame on it. The sooner, the better.

BLITZER: You have three diplomats, a couple of military attaches already on the scene. Do you know at this point, there are some conflicting reports that we're getting, whether or not the Chinese have boarded that EP-3 plane?

BLAIR: I don't know for sure either, Wolf. That's one of the important things that we'll hear about from our people when the attaches have a chance to talk with them. Of course. the main thing we're concerned about is the health and safety of the people themselves. That's very important to the families and it's very important to us in uniform. So, that's number one. And then finding out what actually happened is number two.

BLITZER: You've been told that they are in good shape by the Chinese government, we're told here. Do you know that they have been removed specifically from the plane and are relocated at another location on the island?

BLAIR: No, we don't know anything for sure about their location. We've received different reports from officials in the Chinese government, no independent confirmation. What we're really looking forward to is our attache, our counsel general and the others who are down there in Hainan actually being in the same room with our folks, counting noses, checking to make sure everybody is OK and finding out what happened. So, I'm holding off until we get that direct information.

BLITZER: We know the EP-3 an extremely sensitive surveillance aircraft over these past 48 hours, almost, since it's been on the ground on China. If the Chinese did board that plane and began to look through some of the equipment, how damaging, potentially, could that be?

BLAIR: That really depends on a whole range of factors, Wolf, and you have to proceed from what you don't know up to what you do know. We have procedures with all classified material and information for dealing with both the possibility of compromise and actual compromise, and we run through those procedures on a pretty routine basis, and we sharpen them up as soon as we know more and more about it.

So, we're going through that procedure right now, and, of course, we will tighten it up when we know exactly what happened, and what the different potentials or actual or possible compromises of information or material have been.

BLITZER: Admiral, I take it standard operating procedure dealing with these kinds of highly-sensitive, classified information and material aboard that plane, the standard operating procedures is to try to destroy as much of it as possible if it enters territory where it's not supposed to be. Do you know whether the crew managed to disable or destroy a lot of that equipment before it was forced to disembark from the aircraft?

BLAIR: You know, Wolf, before we send any military plane or ship or person anywhere, we have a set of what if's we go through. We evaluate what gear and information we have where, and what we would do if various things happen. And I can tell you that that's part of our -- that's part of just what we do as professional military people. But I really just don't want to go into specifics either about the procedures themselves or especially in regard to this incident until we know a little bit more.

BLITZER: There seemed to be some conflicting signals coming from the U.S., the withdraw, for example, of these three warships from the region. What is that -- what is the message you're trying to send by withdrawing those ships?

BLAIR: It's interesting, Wolf, we don't draw lines in the water. When you get beyond 12 miles from the country, the coast of another country, whether it's the United States or any other country, that's international water, that's international airspace, and vessels are entitled to go through that water freely. Nobody has any call on them.

I don't care if you are 12.5 miles from China or 12.5 miles from San Diego, that's international water, and anybody's vessel can go on that water, and anybody's airplane can fly above it. So, whether we have ships or airplanes that are 13 miles or 30 miles off of any other country, that's where they are authorized to be.

And that's -- it's certainly in international airspace that our EP-3 was operating when it had this incident. Our ships routinely go into areas that are more than 12 miles but closer to China. We have had some operating in that area right now. In fact, probably the three ships that you're referring to just finished a port visit in Hong Kong, which is part of China, a day or two ago, and then they were going along Taiwan -- they were going along the Chinese coast and then they were operating in that vicinity.

We have ships that go through the -- go through the Taiwan Strait from time to time. So, I think we just have to understand here that this is international water and airspace, and we regard it like that and we use it like that, whether it's a ship or an airplane.

BLITZER: Admiral Dennis Blair, thank you very much for joining us on our program.

BLAIR: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you.

And just ahead, we'll look inside the Navy's EP-3 spy plane and explain how top secret technology on board could prove invaluable to the Chinese. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Tonight on "The Leading Edge," the U.S. Navy plane now on the ground in China is equipped with some of America's most sophisticated spy technology. For more on why the Chinese would find it so interesting, here's CNN's Patty Davis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. military officials describe the EP-3 surveillance plane as an "electronic vacuum cleaner" sweeping up information.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're doing right now is building what we call a surface picture.

DAVIS: On board, sophisticated eavesdropping devices, sensors, receivers and dish antennas to track radar, voice and satellite communications. Experts say the plane's most sensitive equipment is used for unscrambling military code.

Pentagon officials say the propeller-driven plane, whose missions in the air can exceed 12 hours, was monitoring Chinese military movements and communication when it was intercepted by two Chinese fighter jets. It was forced to make an emergency landing after a collision with one of them.

BRYAN BENDER, STRATFOR.COM MILITARY ANALYST: China could, in fact, learn quite a bit from this airplane. Not necessarily hard and fast data as to what the aircraft was looking at or listening to, but more importantly, the methods that it uses, whether it's antennas, other high-tech gear to pick up these signals out of the air.

DAVIS: According to a Navy official, the EP-3s equipment is so secret, each of the 24 crew members is trained to destroy the equipment with hammers, axes or even acid and shred documents if they fear the plane will fall into unfriendly hands.

FRANK GAFFNEY, CENTER FOR SECURITY POLICY: It's also possible that the data aboard some of the equipment could have been electronically destroyed.

DAVIS: In fact, Pentagon officials say the crew of the EP-3 did start destruction procedures. Intercepts, when one plane makes visual contact with another, rarely result in collisions.

(on camera): But Navy officials say the Chinese have recently gotten more aggressive, flying less than 50 feet from U.S. planes, so close Washington complained to Beijing in December.

Patty Davis, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: After the break, we'll look at other top stories, including a deadly helicopter rocket attack in the Middle East.

And the Senate finally votes on John McCain's campaign finance reform bill. The results and what it means, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Escalating violence in the Middle East tops our look at other news tonight. Intense firefights broke out between the Israeli army and Palestinians in the West Bank today, injuring at least eight Palestinians. The clashes followed an Israeli helicopter attack on a truck in Gaza which killed a member of the Islamic Jihad.

After weeks of intense debate, the Senate today gave its final approval on a landmark campaign finance reform bill. The vote was 59- 41. The measure, sponsored by Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold, would ban the soft money donations while doubling the limits of so- called hard money to $2,000. The bill now heads to the U.S. House or Representatives for final approval.

That's all the time we have for our special report tonight. "THE POINT WITH GRETA VAN SUSTEREN" is next with more on the U.S.-China standoff. For now, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting from the Pentagon.

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